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Kenyon Martin blames George Karl for Nuggets not winning title
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- Kenyon Martin blames George Karl for Nuggets not winning title
The post Kenyon Martin blames George Karl for Nuggets not winning title appeared first on ClutchPoints .
One thing about Kenyon Martin is that he's known for his honesty , specifically when it comes to his time playing for the Denver Nuggets . Martin has been blunt about his experience at that time and specifically his relationship with former Nuggets coach George Karl. In the latest episode of The OG's Podcast with Udonis Haslem & Mike Miller , Martin expressed that he believed that the Nuggets should've won an NBA championship.
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"If we have a different coach, we win a championship bro. No doubt about it. If we have a different coach that was well rounded, the game and people. Not just the game…and people. Because it just can't be one part. So did the man know basketball? Yeah, but it wasn't in it's totality in the game situations. Like all the s—t you need, like if you ain't got no timeouts or if they take this away what are we going to do. I played for this man for six and a half years, we never worked on it bro. End of game situations, never worked on it dog."
Martin spent several seasons with the Nuggets, joining the team in 2004 after a rather successful four-year stint with the New Jersey Nets after being drafted by them in 2000. The team boasted immense talent in those seasons, even trading for former NBA MVP Allen Iverson midway through the 2006-2007 season and then moving Iverson to secure 2004 NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups . Plus, Carmelo Anthony was in his prime and emerged as one of best scorers in the league.
Karl's struggles with connecting to players are well known. Several players, including Kenyon Martin and Carmelo Anthony, had conflicts with him during that time. Karl even detailed his side of the issues with Martin in his book, Furious George, saying, "I knew right away that our power forward was one of the most insecure, immature players I ever coached."
George Karl described Carmelo Anthony as the best offensive player he ever coached but also called him a "user of people" who was addicted to the spotlight. The tension between Karl and the other players on that team certainly derailed them from reaching their full potential, with the closest they got to championship success being the 2009 NBA Finals that saw Kobe Bryant and the Lakers dispatch them en route to an NBA title.
